Page 63 - Carlson School GBCC Career Guide

Professional Correspondence
PROFESSIONAL CORRESPONDENCE
“ When I read a cover letter, I am looking for not only a summary of the candidate’s background but also an indication that the candidate understands the position they are posting for. A strong cover letter demonstrates the candidate's skills and experience relative to the opportunity the company has to offer. The cover letter also provides insight into other key skills, such as communication and attention to detail.”
– Alyssa Robbins, Recruiter, Chevron
Cover Letters 2
The cover letter that accompanies your resume is an important piece of correspondence you will write during your job search. It is the document that introduces you to a prospective employer, showcases your career experience, and highlights your interest in the position. You can use it to convince the employer that
USE YOUR RESEARCH
to identify key skills areas
Use knowledge you gathered from an informational interview, information session, site visit, or the company website. Use that information, especially if a job posting is not available.
3 RANK SKILL AREAS in order of importance
Now that you’ve identified a number of key skill areas, you’ll need to narrow your focus. For instance, are leadership skills more important than interpersonal skills? Is a degree more important than work experience? Is computer expertise more important than analytical skills? Often, the most important key skills are mentioned multiple times in the posting or come up often in your research, or they are listed as “essential qualifications” in a posting.
IDENTIFY PROOF
of your qualifications
Next, prove that you have the key skills that they are looking for in an ideal candidate. Examples can come from your work, educational, volunteer, or extracurricular experience. Unique examples can make you stand out as a candidate. Three or four skills are usually appropriate for each letter.
TAILOR YOUR LETTER
you have something to offer that makes it worth their time to interview you.
Creating Cover Letters with Impact
Job postings can provide you with a wealth of information about the skills that an employer deems essential for a well-qualified candidate. Once you identify keywords that signal these skills, you can use your qualifications to provide specific and tailored examples to prove to an employer how your skills can meet their needs.
If a job posting is not available, learn as much as possible
about the skills the employer is seeking. Utilize your knowledge
of the industry, LinkedIn, or the company website to gather
clues. You can also make an appointment with a Career Coach
for assistance. 4
Follow these steps to help effectively utilize a job posting and your own research to write a cover letter with impact:
1 READ THE JOB DESCRIPTION to identify key skill areas
Identifying key skills is an important aspect of reading job
postings. Keywords can signal what an employer considers 5 important or essential in hiring for a position and will be
things they are looking for in the cover letter. Pull up the job
description, then highlight or underline words and phrases that
identify transferable skills.
Mention that you have the key skills (using words as similar to those the company uses to make it obvious), then give specific evidence and outcome statements to prove you’re qualified.
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Carlson School of Management